


Unspoken

by barton_s



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Domestic Avengers, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 19:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18708397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barton_s/pseuds/barton_s
Summary: Words didn't always need to be spoken. Certainly not between these two.A collection of quieter, littler moments between Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff





	1. A Christmas miracle

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I cried so much watching endgame and I still can't believe things happened the way they happened..... it was beautiful but so painful and I wish we had more. I love these two and I will never get over them.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a warmth in every Christmas since Natasha and Clint moved in together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was set before the Avengers were formed

The little apartment they shared started out as a decision of pure convenience; being partners for an endless number of missions meant that it'd be easier to protect one another and train together. SHIELD had managed to find an apartment just snug for the both of them, save for a little personal space for each of them.

 "Merry Christmas!" Clint walked through the front door clumsily; for a master assassin, he was surprisingly bad at not making an entrance every single time he entered the apartment. She had barely looked up from the cup of hot chocolate she was sipping from; she’s used to it by now.

She watched in silence as he set a huge box decorated in bright red paper on the table.

”Don't get excited, this one's for me," he grinned the same grin that broke the silence between them the very first day they moved in. Natasha rolled her eyes despite herself; he was never one for grand gestures. Not because he didn’t like giving them, but because she never liked receiving them.

Clint walked into his room and Natasha took in the stark silence he left behind. She wasn’t sure if she felt relief, or disappointment, or a little of both.

"And this one," his sudden reappearance almost made her jump as he gently placed a small, black gift bag in front of her, "is for you"

She hated Christmas. All of it. The stinging cold that made already-tough-missions even tougher, the loneliness that reminded her of all she never had and would never have, the same old rom-coms being repeated on cable. 

She hated that red hand-knitted scarf she found in the gift bag, with uneven stitches and a light, almost unnoticeable scent of Clint's cologne.

She hated how even with all the walls that she had put up - a skill she acquired over the years - Clint had a knack for breaking them down.


	2. Promise me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Clint regained consciousness from Loki's mind control, Natasha and Clint gear up for battle. This seems a little different, however, and both of them are afraid.

"Hey Nat"  
"Yeah?" 

She didn’t have to look up.

Maybe it was the slight tremble in his voice, maybe it was the way she could feel his gaze on her, a mix of worry and silly optimism, maybe it was the way he stayed silent for exactly 5.5 seconds before he started speaking (the 2.5 second delay was a clear sign of Clint’s hesitation). 

She didn't know what was coming, but she knew she wouldn't have the answer he wanted, or needed. 

"Promise me, if it ever comes down to it, that you won't risk your life to save mine."

Silence. 

"Promise me."

"Don't say it like it'll happen," she said with a slight chuckle they both know to be forced. 

He knew natasha better than to continue forcing an answer out of her; she was terrified. He was too, so he geared up silently. And years of working - and living - together meant she caught on to Clint backing down. He was never one to stop insisting, especially not at a time like this.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let it happen.”


End file.
